I did something really delicious today: I spent about an hour and a half just poking around the library.  I’m always amazed at the connections and insights my mind makes when I’m not working on anything specific, a good reminder for those of us with over-scheduled lives (think of that the next time you make a to-do list).

What I stumbled upon was Temple Grandin’s book Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals.  You see, my cat has been stressed due to a recent (bad) vet visit and the multiple house showings we’ve had in an effort to sell our house.  I was delighted to find Grandin not only had really good insights into what was going on with our cat, but terrific insights into people too.

Let me state right off the bat I happen to be a fan of Penelope Trunks’s blog on Brazen Careerist.  It was the first blog I subscribed to, so it’s a little disheartening that the first time I return the favor of her inspiration, I have to take issue with her word choices.

In fact, had I not been in the midst of reading Ms. Hecht’s fabulous treatise on happiness (The Happiness Myth), I might have been taken in by Trunk’s quiz is your life is happy or interesting?  It did remind me of sitting on my mother’s bed with her Cosmopolitan magazine, which by and large was an enjoyable activity, apparently for both me and my mother since I always got the quiz with the answers already filled in. 

So if you like that sort of thing, I highly recommend taking the quiz yourself.  I promise not to take a pen to your computer screen.